Richard Wolpert, the former president of Disney Online, has joined Yucaipa Cos. as a partner to help the investment firm bring groceries to the Internet. Ron Burkle, Yucaipa's managing partner, will announce Wolpert's long-expected appointment today. Burkle made headlines last fall for engineering an $8-billion deal to merge Fred Meyer Inc. with Kroger Co.

Richard Wolpert, who last served as a partner for Internet and technology ventures at Yucaipa Cos., will join Seattle-based RealNetworks as a strategic advisor focusing on the delivery of digital music and wireless multimedia. The appointment is to be announced today. RealNetworks is the leading developer of software allowing Web users to hear and view music, video, and other media over the Web. Wolpert headed Disney Online from 1996 to 1998.

Richard Wolpert, who last served as a partner for Internet and technology ventures at Yucaipa Cos., will join Seattle-based RealNetworks as a strategic advisor focusing on the delivery of digital music and wireless multimedia. The appointment is to be announced today. RealNetworks is the leading developer of software allowing Web users to hear and view music, video, and other media over the Web. Wolpert headed Disney Online from 1996 to 1998.

Ask Richard Wolpert what makes him tick as an angel investor and he tells you about the time he built a media room. The story behind that goes back to his childhood, when he decided he would build and sell a profitable business by age 30 so that, as he puts it, he might be done with working.

No one can accuse Richard Wolpert, chief executive of Beverly Hills-based e-commerce site CheckOut.com, of not putting his money where his mouth is. Wolpert, the former Disney Online president who often hypes the benefit of blending entertainment with technology, has made investments in several companies doing just that. Wolpert will announce today that his personal investment company, Westlake Village-based Chase Investments, has taken stakes in six technology and entertainment firms.

Entertainment heavyweights Richard Wolpert and Michael Ovitz, moving to expand their portfolio of Internet investments, said Wednesday that they have taken a multimillion-dollar minority stake in GameSpy Industries, a Costa Mesa-based online entertainment site. Privately held GameSpy, which has a staff of 30, is known for making a series of software applications that allow consumers to find everything from games to music on the Net. Financial details were not disclosed.

No one can doubt that companies such as Amazon.com, Dell Computer and EToys have demonstrated that the masses are perfectly willing to shop online--not with electronic commerce revenues forecast to top $36 billion this year. But one crucial element of retail success is still missing from cyberspace--the impulse purchase. Enter CheckOut.

Billionaire grocery magnate Ronald W. Burkle plans to branch out from the supermarket aisles he knows so well to the fast-moving world of the Internet, after announcing an $8-billion deal Monday to sell Fred Meyer Inc. to Kroger Co., a spokesman said. The agreement to sell Fred Meyer to the largest U.S. supermarket company is just the latest in a string of deals by Burkle, who started his career sweeping the floors and stacking loaves of bread at a grocery store in Claremont.

Ask Richard Wolpert what makes him tick as an angel investor and he tells you about the time he built a media room. The story behind that goes back to his childhood, when he decided he would build and sell a profitable business by age 30 so that, as he puts it, he might be done with working.

The latest company to be drawn to the flashy world of entertainment and e-commerce is Yucaipa Cos., the private Los Angeles investment company behind Kroger Co.'s deal to acquire Fred Meyer and create the nation's largest supermarket chain. Yucaipa recently bought Alliance Entertainment Corp. of Coral Springs, Fla., which distributes music, videos, DVDs and games, and operates Web sites about music, movies and games.

No one can accuse Richard Wolpert, chief executive of Beverly Hills-based e-commerce site CheckOut.com, of not putting his money where his mouth is. Wolpert, the former Disney Online president who often hypes the benefit of blending entertainment with technology, has made investments in several companies doing just that. Wolpert will announce today that his personal investment company, Westlake Village-based Chase Investments, has taken stakes in six technology and entertainment firms.

No one can doubt that companies such as Amazon.com, Dell Computer and EToys have demonstrated that the masses are perfectly willing to shop online--not with electronic commerce revenues forecast to top $36 billion this year. But one crucial element of retail success is still missing from cyberspace--the impulse purchase. Enter CheckOut.

Entertainment heavyweights Richard Wolpert and Michael Ovitz, moving to expand their portfolio of Internet investments, said Wednesday that they have taken a multimillion-dollar minority stake in GameSpy Industries, a Costa Mesa-based online entertainment site. Privately held GameSpy, which has a staff of 30, is known for making a series of software applications that allow consumers to find everything from games to music on the Net. Financial details were not disclosed.

Richard Wolpert, the former president of Disney Online, has joined Yucaipa Cos. as a partner to help the investment firm bring groceries to the Internet. Ron Burkle, Yucaipa's managing partner, will announce Wolpert's long-expected appointment today. Burkle made headlines last fall for engineering an $8-billion deal to merge Fred Meyer Inc. with Kroger Co.

Billionaire grocery magnate Ronald W. Burkle plans to branch out from the supermarket aisles he knows so well to the fast-moving world of the Internet, after announcing an $8-billion deal Monday to sell Fred Meyer Inc. to Kroger Co., a spokesman said. The agreement to sell Fred Meyer to the largest U.S. supermarket company is just the latest in a string of deals by Burkle, who started his career sweeping the floors and stacking loaves of bread at a grocery store in Claremont.

RealNetworks Inc. said Monday that it would begin offering a steep discount on its digital music subscription service to some university students in an effort to stem illegal downloads and attract long-term customers. The Seattle company said it had struck deals with UC Berkeley and the University of Minnesota system to offer its standard Rhapsody service to students for $2 to $3 a month. The service is normally $9.95 a month.

Keeping pace with the trend of retailers and Internet firms joining forces to cash in on each other's customer base, Wherehouse Music and entertainment Web site CheckOut.com announced a $40-million partnership. Wherehouse will invest $20 million in Beverly Hills-based CheckOut.com, and Yucaipa Cos. and Hollywood super-agent Michael Ovitz will plow the other $20 million into the Web firm. CheckOut.com sells movies, music and games and offers a range of information on entertainment figures.